By Derek DeBurger

Louisville’s great week has helped them not only lock up a berth in the ACC Tournament but also boost their RPI as Selection Sunday looms.

Tuesday

Louisville started their week against the NKU Norse and were determined to empty their bullpen. The Cards sent eight pitchers to the mound with only two pitching for longer than an inning.

Throughout the lineup, the Cards sent an additional 12 batters out for plate appearances to great success. Louisville got batters on base early and often, with a sacrifice fly in the first inning by Gavin Kilen driving in the first run of the game. NKU scored two runs in the top of the third inning to take the lead, but a triple and individual home runs from Kilen and Eddie King Jr. allowed Louisville to score five and reclaim the lead. Two home runs from the Norse in the top of the fourth inning cut the lead to just one run, but Zion Rose hit an RBI triple and stole home on a throwing error later in the fourth to push the lead back up to three.

Louisville would hold onto their lead, scoring three more runs while giving up only two more, and win 11-7.

The offense of Louisville did what was expected and what was needed, but the pitching staff struggled. While there were no pitchers allowed to hit a groove by virtue of how few innings each was allowed on the mound, the staff as a whole struggled against an opponent with far less talent than them. It’s sadly not a departure from the norm this season.

Thursday

The weekend series against the Boston College Eagles got out to about as good a start as the Cards could hope for. Louisville scored five runs in the first inning and three more runs in the sixth inning. All the while, starter Sebastian Gongora only gave up one hit through the first six innings. Things got pretty dicey for Gongora and the Cards in the seventh inning; the Eagles scored seven runs, five off of Gongora. Louisville was able to get out of the inning, tacking on four insurance runs in the eighth.

Louisville won 12-7.

Friday

The second game of the series was a textbook pitcher’s duel. There were four total pitchers in the game, two on each side. Evan Webster looked unstoppable at the start. Webster only gave up four hits and one ball to six strikeouts in the seven innings he pitched. Tucker Biven came in at the start of the eighth inning and kept the momentum going, closing the game with two shutout innings.

The pitching was fantastic, but it means very little if you can’t put any runs on the board. Isaac Humphrey provided. Humphrey scored a run in the second, hit an RBI double in the sixth, and a solo home run in the eighth, going 3-for-4 in the game.

Louisville won 3-0.

Saturday

While the most exciting two minutes in sports were happening back home, the Cards were still in Brighton to close out the series.

For the third time in three games, Louisville got great stuff out of their starter. Colton Hartman was the first to hit the mound, pitching five scoreless innings. While Hartman was pulled after giving up his lone run, it’s because it was the first run of the game. Kayden Campbell came in after Hartman got out of the jam, and gave another two great innings including four strikeouts against eight batters faced.

After the tie was broken in the sixth inning, the Cards took no time to tie it back up and take the lead in the seventh inning. Louisville would score another three runs in the eighth inning to bring the lead up to four. In both innings, Louisville had runners on first, stole second, and hit singles to bring runs home. During this two-inning stretch, Ryan McCoy was the first and last batter to drive in runs.

With just six outs needed, Campbell and Patrick Forbes combined to close the game and only gave up one run in the process. Campbell would be credited with the win, his third of the year.

Louisville won 5-2, and ultimately won the series 3-0.

Trending Upward

While the Cards’ competition may not have been the fiercest this past week, they’ve dropped games to worse teams this season. A 4-0 week is nothing to scoff at. This is also just the second sweep of a conference series this season for the Cards, and the third sweep overall this season.

Boston College isn’t the most fearsome offensive team in the country, but the Cards still looked very impressive on the mound. Louisville has had its obvious struggles this season, but baseball is a sport where momentum reigns king. Could this be the start of a hot streak on the mounds? Who’s to say? For now, they’ll take this momentum into a week completely on the road.

Louisville advances to 29-18 on the season and 13-11 in the ACC.